New cleft lip and palate treatment solution
Researchers from the Department of Computer Science at ETH Zurich, in collaboration with clinical care researchers at the University Hospital Basel, have developed a new treatment solution for children born with a cleft lip and palate. Learn more about the treatment and its implementation in the video.
In brief
The treatment for children born with cleft lip and palate typically involves the use of therapeutic intraoral plates before surgical closure of the cleft. Shortly after birth, a presurgical therapeutic plate is custom-fitted to the baby's mouth. This plate serves to bridge the cleft space and prevent the baby from exerting tongue pressure on the alveolar edges, thus facilitating a gentler repair surgery later on. Traditionally, these plates were manually made using plaster casts, which required specialized knowledge and carried some risks.
The computer science doctoral researcher Till Schnabel, who was closely supervised by senior researchers Dr Baran Gözcü and Professor Barbara Solenthaler, worked on developing the new approach. Together with clinical care researchers at the University Hospital Basel they were able to create a digital pipeline that enables the automatic production of the plates.
Implementation of the digital pipeline
The pipeline has already been successfully implemented in the clinical routine in two hospitals: the University Hospital Basel and the Saveetha Medical College and Hospital in India. The video by the University Hospital Basel showcases the implementation of their approach, highlighting its effectiveness in improving the lives of affected children.
